adrian-askarieh
Latest
Deus Ex film rights picked up by CBS
CBS Films has picked up the rights to Square Enix's Deus Ex franchise, and plans on producing a movie based on the latest game in the series, Deux Ex: Human Revolution. Developer Eidos Montreal will have a stake in the film, Variety reports, with CBS Films working "closely" with Eidos Montreal on adapting the game for the big screen."No one knows Human Revolution like the team that created it, and we look forward to working with them from day one to make a film adaptation worthy of the 'Deus Ex' name," CBS Films co-president Terry Press said. Adrian Askarieh will act as one of the producers, a name you may recognize if you're still waiting for that sequel to Hitman.
Just Cause film optioned, screenwriter attached
Eric Eisner's L+E Productions has optioned the rights to a Just Cause movie script written by Michael Ross, reports Variety. Producer Adrian Askarieh is helping the production company flesh out the project "before shopping it to the studios." L+E Productions' first project, Hamlet 2, was picked up by Focus Features for a reported $10 million in 2008, giving some hope to the possibility of Just Cause actually appearing in theaters at some point in the future. Askarieh also helped to get the Hitman film out the door, to which a sequel is currently in production. The Just Cause film will apparently focus on the story of Rico "The Scorpion" Rodriguez as he takes on "deadly missions for the US government that come in the form of creating chaos and destrabalizing rogue nations from within and turning the bad guys against each other." Sound familiar? Let's just hope the adaptation doesn't take any of that ... questionable NPC chatter along for the ride. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]
Hitman 2 may recast lead, Kane and Lynch still coming
Though it was sniped by critics, Hitman was a smash at the box office, raking in $100 million in theaters plus another $80M on DVD. Emboldened, producer Adrian Askarieh has a full slate of Eidos films in the works, projects that he recently discussed with GameDaily. His main focus right now is a Just Cause film, which he's producing independently, so don't be surprised if it doesn't quite hit that same level of Hitman polish. Look for that to start shooting next year. Also next year, Kane and Lynch is finally set to start filming in March -- after plenty of false starts -- with Bruce Willis in the Kane role. Finally, there's the Hitman sequel, which Askarieh said may need a new lead, as star Timothy Olyphant is filming a new show for FX. Though Askarieh said he'd like to get Olyphant back, we can't imagine why when Richard Moll is right there.
Hollywood producer snags rights to Just Cause
The exploits of Rico Rodriguez managed to captivate the attention of producer Adrian Askarieh, as Variety reports he's secured the film rights to Just Cause. Askarieh's no stranger to Eidos properties, as he also produced 2007's Hitman (and is apparently returning for the sequel) and is still working on bringing Kane & Lynch to the big screen.Of course, this could all be moot. Askarieh is financing the picture independently and looking to get together $35 million in funding. We're not saying he can't do it, just that it's significantly harder to make a movie when you don't have a studio backing you. Hopefully Askarieh has a lot of friends, because we totally wouldn't mind seeing The Scorpion (played by Antonio Banderas, obviously) hijack a helicopter at our local cinema.
